Donn Piatt Of Mac-O-Chee.

Donn Piatt - of Mac-o-chee, -         Not the one of History,         Who, with flaming tongue and pen,         Scathes the vanities of men;         Not the one whose biting wit         Cuts pretense and etches it         On the brazen brow that dares         Filch the laurel that it wears:         Not the Donn Piatt whose praise         Echoes in the noisy ways         Of the faction, onward led         By the statesman! - But, instead,         Give the simple man to me, -         Donn Piatt of Mac-o-chee!         II.         Donn Piatt of Mac-o-chee!         Branches of the old oak tree,         Drape him royally in fine         Purple shade and golden shine!         Emerald plush of sloping lawn         Be the throne he sits upon!         And, O Summer sunset, thou         Be his crown, and gild a brow         Softly smoothed and soothed and calmed         By the breezes, mellow-palmed         As Erata's white hand agleam         On the forehead of a dream. -         So forever rule o'er me,         Donn Piatt of Mac-o-chee!         III.         Donn Piatt of Mac-o-chee:         Through a lilied memory         Plays the wayward little creek         Round thy home at hide-and-seek -         As I see and hear it, still         Romping round the wooded hill,         Till its laugh-and-babble blends         With the silence while it sends         Glances back to kiss the sight,         In its babyish delight,         Ere it strays amid the gloom         Of the glens that burst in bloom         Of the rarest rhyme for thee,         Donn Piatt of Mac-o-chee!         IV.         Donn Piatt of Mac-o-chee!         What a darling destiny         Has been mine - to meet him there -         Lolling in an easy chair         On the terrace, while he told         Reminiscences of old -         Letting my cigar die out,         Hearing poems talked about;         And entranced to hear him say         Gentle things of Thackeray,         Dickens, Hawthorne, and the rest,         Known to him as host and guest -         Known to him as he to me -         Donn Piatt of Mac-o-chee!